Detailed and in-depth discussion of the the book “Sister Carrie” by Theodore Dreiser.
This analytical research paper presents a detailed book report on Sister Carrie, a marvelous piece of writing by the renowned figure of literary realism movement of the nineteenth century, Theodore Dreiser. Based on thorough analysis and research, the paper discusses the aspects that highlight the context in which the writer came up with the book surrounding the intricate social and moral context. Moreover, the paper discusses the experiences, responses and restraints of the fictional characters as depicted by the author. All statements made and opinions given are supported with examples and historical evidences. Further discussion of World Columbian Exposition highlights the impact of the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893 on Chicago relating it to the story of Carrie.
Theodore Dreiser, the famous realist of his times was born in 1871 on August 27 in Indiana and belonged to a German-American poverty-ridden family of ten children. Exchanging hands with poverty, struggle and education, after his return to Chicago from Indiana University, Bloomington, he entered the world of journalism and got married after working with Chicago Globe and Globe Democrat (Classic Notes). Soon after moving to New York with Sara, his wife, he started working diligently on his first novel, Sister Carrie (Classic Notes). This first novel received extreme rejection as well as criticism from a number of publishers and a few writers, however, with this novel, the readers as well as the writers of the American literature were introduced to the concept of realism. Dreiser based his first novel on the real life history of her sister Emma (Classic Notes) who experienced loss of dignity at the hands of her illegitimate lover, thereby discussing the innocence of women, their submissive position in the society and the cosmopolitan virtues (Dreiser: 1) of the world. With the story of Carrie, the author has taken his readers on a journey to the world of vices and the immoral practices that were common at the time when this novel was written. In short, Dreiser wrote as a Realist, and believed that fiction should not merely depict an idealized version of life for readers, but should show how people really felt and thought about things (Classic Notes).